Buka Airport Terminal Upgrade Failure Wastes Public Funds

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Despite the letting of a contract in 2021 by the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) to a local company for an upgrade of the Buka Airport Terminal, this work is far from being satisfactorily completed. Air travel passengers to Buka, Autonomous Region of Bougainville (AROB), are acutely aware of this facility’s current sub-standard condition. 

Incoming passengers are required to stand in a rusting galvanised iron, ex-Department of Works “Nissen Hut” while waiting for their luggage before jostling with their fellow passengers to retrieve their luggage in a cramped, unventilated baggage retrieval area. Outgoing passengers are required to stand in a slightly less cramped check-in area, where ceiling fans provide inadequate cooling and no seating is provided for the travelling public. The airport terminal also lacks a public address system to allow important messages to be broadcast to waiting passengers. 

The unplanned, incomplete state of the Buka Airport Terminal was highlighted in a media conference held in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (PNG) on 31 March, 2023 following a visit to the AROB by the Member for Ijivitari, Hon. David Arore, as part of a ministerial delegation. During this press conference, Mr Arore emphasised the need, “… for leaders from both PNG and Bougainville to fix the Buka Airport facilities and to ensure that the people deserve the best service”. 

In a statement responding to Mr Arore’s criticism of the Buka Airport facilities, the AROB President, Ishmael Toroama said, “It is unfair for Mr Arore to even compare infrastructure development on Bougainville to those of the rest of the country. I make no excuses for our lacking infrastructure but unlike the rest of the nation, we are a post-conflict region that was reduced to basic humanity…”. 

President Toroama’s defensive comments mask the reality behind the unprofessional, half-completed upgrade of the Buka Airport Terminal. The three-month contract for this work, valued at PGK780,000 (USD221,500), was awarded in August 2021 to a local company, Go-Well Holdings Limited, whose managing director is ex-Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) commander, Damien Kora. At that time, Mr Kora said that if materials are sourced quickly and on time, his company would complete the job in two months. 

In early 2022, following commencement of the Buka Airport Terminal upgrade, Damien Kora declared himself a candidate for the seat of North Bougainville Open in the PNG National Elections. On 28 July, 2022 he was eliminated during the vote-counting for the North Bougainville Open seat, that was eventually won by the sitting member, the late Hon. William Nakin. Soon after Damien Kora’s elimination from this contest, Go-Well Holdings Limited ceased work on the Buka Airport Terminal upgrade, leaving the building in its current, unfinished state. It’s unclear whether or not Go-Well Holdings Limited has repaid any of the funds it was granted for this contract.   

Failure of government-funded infrastructure projects in Bougainville, such as the Buka Airport Terminal upgrade, and the subsequent waste of public money, will continue to occur while ABG oversight of contract awarding and implementation is lacking. A transparent and independent tender process is urgently needed to address this issue.